Maharashtra doctors likely to be back at work today

Earlier in the day March 23, the high court ordered government and hospital administrations to provide at least 500 security guards in state hospitals, including four in Mumbai, by April 5 and the remaining 600 by April 15.

Resident doctors will resume their duties on Saturday after a warning was issued by the Bombay High Court.

It may be recalled that more than 3,500 resident doctors had gone on strike after two incidences of doctors being thrashed by relatives and friends of patients. KEM Hospital's dean Dr Avinash Supe said, "Our resident doctors have started signing the muster".

Both MARD and the Indian Medical Association have welcomed the court verdict.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday proposed the formation of an Apex council with government nominees and doctors in it to look into issues of security of medical fraternity in hospitals.

In view of the same and high court orders, MARD requested all doctors to resume work immediately, MARD President Yashowardhan Kabra said in a statement.

While this was so, the doctor stir spread to New Delhi where more than 20,000 resident doctors in 40 hospitals are ready to go on mass casual leave.

The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) has also expressed their support to the doctors in Maharashtra.

With an alarmingly low ratio of doctor to patients in India, the shortage of staff is obviously telling on doctors in terms of the pressure they are under. The fifth day of the strike, even if partial, cost government hospitals over 400 routine surgeries in Mumbai alone, affecting thousands of patients who witnessed yet another day of half-shut out patient departments (OPDs).

Around 1200 doctors of AIIMS Delhi turned up on duty yesterday wearing helmets, to support their striking counterparts in Maharashtra.

The Director General of Police has conducted a security audit with senior officers and concluded that "any attack on doctors is an attack on the government". We have been getting that for one year. It ordered that no punitive action should be taken against the protesting doctors once they rejoin their duties. "Doctors should be given a healthy environment at the hospitals", Nadda said. However, MARD said doctors would continue with their strike, claiming that they had not received a certified copy of the Bombay High Court order.